Ledley King believes victory in the north London derby on Sunday could herald
a long-term power shift in Tottenham’s rivalry with Arsenal.

Spurs have been in their arch-rivals’ shadow for almost two decades, having last finished above them in the Premier League in 1995. But a win at White Hart Lane on Sunday would move them seven points clear of Arsène Wenger’s misfiring Gunners with just 10 matches remaining.

Former Tottenham captain King was confident that would prove an unbridgeable gap for Arsenal and could also lead to a period of Spurs dominance in the league standings.

“I would like to hope that it would be the beginning of Tottenham’s time, ahead of their rivals,” said King, who became an official ambassador at Spurs after being forced into early retirement last summer.

Tottenham were 10 points clear of Arsenal just over a year ago but imploded to finish below them before being cruelly denied a Champions League place by Chelsea’s shock European triumph. King, who was “very confident” of a Spurs win tomorrow, said: “Anything can happen, like we saw last season. Seven points would be a nice cushion and I’d be confident that the team would be able to secure a place from there.”

The former defender, 32, refused to rule out Spurs stealing second spot, having been encouraged by the recent public meltdown of Wenger, Manchester City’s Roberto Mancini and Chelsea’s Rafael Benítez. “It’s not out of reach. It’ll still be tough but, on current form, we’re looking very good.”

That form has largely been the result of an incredible run of goals from Gareth Bale, who has won matches almost singlehandedly in 2013. King insisted that Bale had the “potential” to be as good as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo if he continued his current run, and he warned Arsenal to forget about trying to stop him if that form continues tomorrow.

Bale is fast becoming one of the most coveted players in the world but King claimed he could realise all his ambitions at Tottenham. He said: “I’m sure Tottenham are going to be competing in the next year or two for the league so, for me, there’s no real reason to up and leave just yet.”

Ledley King is backing Skills, a Tottenham Hotspur Foundation project providing sporting and educational opportunities for young people in Haringey.